The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-09-15

alIwas quiet, and by and by let the fire
90 down and took my circle around the
camp with cot like step. A few coyotes
and wolves came about, but nothing
seemed to disturb me, and the hours
passed away until Q O'Clock. BY that
time / was very tired and sleepy. /
dared not Stretch out for regular sleep,
knowing that the danger was not yet
passed, but sat down on knoll about
forty feet north Of the wagon to nap a
little, knowing that any noise of account
would instantly arouse me. 1t was per-
haps quarter Of an hour before l ac-
tually fell asleep, and almost instantly
began to dream. dreamed that l was
tied fast to a tree on the plains, and that
q rattlesnake was crawling toward me.
The snake was coming to bite me, and l
was helpless. Every movement of the
reptile was as vivid as If the dream had
been a reality, and my mind was as clear
MS bell. The serpent came very slowly
hating every two or three feet to rear its
head and look about, and when 1t was
within ten feet its form changed. 1t was
yet serpent, but it had a small brown
hand, and the hand clutched n bull dog
pistol. The pistol was pointed full at me,
and saw that the hammer was up.
"Whiz!" went shadow before my
face, and then / saw behind me. The
snake was no longer in front, but creep
NJ up III my rear, ana YET saw MN as
plainly as before. He came on slowly
,autiously-always little nearer. When
within three feet of my heels the pistol
was raised to the bacl: of my head, and l
said to myself:
$50 am to be shot. It is large bull
let, and it will go clear through my head.
wonder why he didn't bite me? If
was loose would make fierce fight for
my life.
"Clug!" 1t was the sound Of a pistol
hammer striking on the center of cart
ridge-a cartridge which had failed to
explode. In the same second ] was on
my feet. A human figure stood before
me. l gave my heavy rife half sweep
and the figure sank down with stifled
shrek. Then was fully awake, and /
bent over the stranger, to find 1t was the
woman who should have beens asleep in
the wagon. She was unconscious, but
clutched firr:ly in her right hand was a
bull dog pistol. wrenched it away and
carried her to the embers of the fire, and
when had secured blaze saw that l
had struck her on the head and given her
q bad hur. I examined the pistol, and
when found that the cartridge had been
tried by the hammer, it did not take me
long to unravel the plot against my life.
| bound the woman hand and foot, and
then kept vigilant watch until daybreak.
She recovered consciousness long enough
before this, but the only aid I extended
was to loosen her hands and place dish
of water beside her. She did not address
me, and had nd word for her.
When day broke there was another
surprise for me. A Kickapoo Indian lay
dead under the wagon, shot through the
heart. It was great mystery to me, but
the woman was ready to clear it up.
united her, washed the blood off her face
and head, and then she gave the whole
plot away. Patton had been made a
prisoner by gang of outlaws in order
that | might be robbed. These men knew
| Vi Vic iii DOA III tiic WdStii' lHO N''noh
had been sent into camp with the G'Hry
she told, knowing that she would gel
into the wagon. The two men came &c
distract my attention, and the Kichapoo
crept up to receive the box. The woman
couldn't find it, and / mistook the Indian
for a wolf and killed him. Then the
woman concluded that had the money
on me, and while l mapped she crept up
to shoot me and secure it. She told the
particulars as coolly as l relate them to
you, and when she had finished she asked
what l was going to do about it. Patton
had by that time returned, having raised
such row that his captors feared to de-
tain him longer, and he answered the
question by picking up rope and starting
for the nearest tree.
This broke the woman down, and sha
begged and pleaded SO abjectly that W.
left her free to go where she would when
we drove on. To have taken her to
Ockmulgee, Kickapoo or any other town
as prisoner would have been to cause us
great delay and annoyance, and it was
some consolation to know that the blow
gave her caused wound from which
she would not recover for many days.
She was penitent enough as we drove
away, but six weeks later was killed
with her husband, half breed, while
stealing stock from the Creek Indians
New York Sun.